Power Electronics Technology For Large-Scale Renewable Energy Generation

Power Electronics Technology
for Large-Scale Renewable

Energy Generation
This article provides the latest statistics and describes the newest developments in
large-scale renewable power generation.
By F REDE B LAABJERG , Fellow IEEE, Y ONGHENG YANG , Senior Member IEEE,
KATHERINE A. K IM , Senior Member IEEE, AND J OSE R ODRIGUEZ , Life Fellow IEEE
ABSTRACT | Grid integration of renewable energy (REN) advance large-scale REN generation technologies by incorpo-
requires efficient and reliable power conversion stages, par- rating more power electronics systems.
ticularly with an increasing demand for high controllability and
KEYWORDS | Control of large-scale renewable energy (REN);
flexibility seen from the grid side. Underpinned by advanced
energy storage (ES); inverter-based resources; power convert-
control and information technologies, power electronics con-
ers; REN generation; solar photovoltaic (PV) systems; wind
verters play an essential role in large-scale REN generation.
power systems.
However, the use of power converters has also exposed sev-
eral challenges in conventional power grids, e.g., reducing the
system inertia. In this article, grid integration using power elec-
I. I N T R O D U C T I O N
tronics is presented for large-scale REN generation. Technical
Conventional electricity generated by burning fossil-
issues and requirements are discussed with a special focus on
fuel energy, e.g., coal, oil, and natural gas, is not
grid-connected wind, solar photovoltaic, and energy storage
environmental-friendly and is a major contributor to cli-
systems. In addition, the core of the energy generation and
mate change. Furthermore, throughout several decades of
conversion—control for individual power converters (e.g., gen-
intensive exploitation of fossil-based resources, an energy
eral current control) and for the system level (e.g., coordinated
crisis has been foreseen across the globe [1], [2]. However,
operation of large-scale energy systems)—is briefly discussed.
energy consumption is still high and continues to increase
Future research perspectives are then presented, which further
as the global economy grows. It is, thus, imperative to
develop and explore affordable and clean energy to enable
the sustainability of the global society and to battle climate
change [3]. To achieve this, many efforts have been made
Manuscript received 21 May 2022; revised 5 December 2022 and 26 January
2023; accepted 1 March 2023. Date of publication 14 March 2023; date of
to expand the use of renewable energy (REN) sources
current version 5 April 2023. This work was supported in part by the Reliable [4], as shown in Fig. 1, and various REN and alternate
Power Electronics-Based Power Systems (REPEPS) Project from The VELUX
Foundations through the Villum Investigator Program under Award 00016591,
energy technologies are still emerging. Among these REN
in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Project resources, wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) is currently
52107212 and in part by the Zhejiang Kunpeng Investigator Program, in part by
the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology under Grant
the most favorable, which together make up more than half
109-2218-E-002-011-MY3, and in part by the Chilean National Agency for of the total globally installed REN capacity. As depicted in
Research and Development (ANID) under Project FB0008, Project ACT192013,
and Project 1210208. (Corresponding author: Yongheng Yang.)
Fig. 2, the total capacity of wind and solar energy exceeded
Frede Blaabjerg is with AAU Energy, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg, that of hydropower in 2020, and at the end of 2021,
Denmark (e-mail: [email protected]).
Yongheng Yang is with the College of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang
the total renewable capacity reached more than 3000 GW,
University, Hangzhou 310027, China (e-mail: [email protected]). more than 2/3 of which is from wind and solar generation.
Katherine A. Kim is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, National
It can be anticipated that more wind and solar PV capacity
Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan (e-mail: [email protected]).
Jose Rodriguez is with the Faulty of Engineering, Universidad San Sebastian, will be installed soon, as the cost of such technologies is
Santiago 8420524, Chile (e-mail: [email protected]). still declining [5]; hence, large-scale wind and solar PV
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/JPROC.2023.3253165 power generation is right around the corner.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. For more information, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Vol. 111, No. 4, April 2023 | P ROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE 335

Blaabjerg et al.: Power Electronics Technology for Large-Scale REN Generation
power system-wide strategies should be developed to man-

age the variable generation from multiple REN systems
connected to the same grid. Moreover, controlling and
conditioning the power generated from REN resources
are achieved using (nonlinear) power electronics (power
switching devices). It is, thus, expected that, as more REN
power generation is deployed, the power electronics that
control them will make up a larger portion of the grid.
Fig. 3 exemplifies the use of power electronics in modern
power transmission systems while also looking toward
100% power electronic-based power systems [7], [10],
[11], [12], [13]. In this context, the large-scale adoption
Fig. 1. Global direct primary energy consumption (relative) in the
of power electronics for REN resources, being inverter-
past two centuries, where the inefficiencies in fossil fuel production
are not considered [4]. It shows that the dependence on fossil fuels
based, is making the utility grid more complicated, even
is declining, but it is still high, e.g., in 2019. to a point where the stability might be challenged [14],
[15], [16], [17], [18]. On the other hand, with the
advancements of power semiconductor devices (e.g., high-
voltage blocking capability and high efficiency), the power
It is well known that the use of REN resources for elec- converters, as the core of energy conversion from REN
tricity generation is different from conventional fossil fuels. resources to electricity, provide more controllability and
More specifically, conventional power generation uses syn- flexibility; however, the design and control should still
chronous generators (SGs) (using steam-based turbines), be further advanced [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24]
referred to as large-scale power plants, which govern the toward systems that are more intelligent, lower cost, and
frequency and voltage of the grid. In this case, the gen- more efficient. At the same time, the design and control
eration capacity is sized to meet the predicted demand, of the employed power converters should be more open
and it is directly dispatchable so that the generation and and/or standardized to address the challenge of modeling
demand can easily be balanced. Conversely, REN genera- “black boxes” from different manufacturers that are often
tion is highly intermittent such that the power generation proprietary to the companies.
from individual REN systems is nondispatchable and dif- In addition, the operation of large-scale REN systems is
ficult to predict. With the integration of large-scale REN mostly in harsh environments (e.g., offshore wind systems
resources, the balance between generation and demand under high humidity). This imposes intense thermal load-
is still a challenge to maintain [6], [7], [8], [9]; hence, ing on the power converters and challenges the reliability
of the entire generation system. Reliability is an important
index as REN systems are long-term investments that are
often costly to repair. By improving the reliability, the over-
all cost of REN resources can be (further) reduced, leading
to higher competitiveness for the REN resources. Hence,
many solutions for reliability, robustness, and resilience
enhancements of inverter-based REN resources are emerg-
ing [25], [26], [27], [28]. For instance, the design for
reliability based on the physics of failures can improve the
reliability of individual power converters [25] and, in turn,
the entire system. At the same time, the harsh operating
environments for the REN systems can potentially induce
large disturbances, which the power converters have to
withstand. To guide the grid integration of REN resources,
transmission system operators (TSOs) and/or distribution
system operators (DSOs), together with other stakeholders
Fig. 2. Global accumulative capacity of REN from 2000 to
or entities, have issued stringent interconnection require-
2021 based on the data available from IRENA and the data
represents the maximum net generating capacity of power plants
ments and grid codes [14], [15] for the commissioning and
and other installations using REN sources to produce electricity [1], operation of large-scale REN power systems. Taking the
where hydropower includes pumped storage and mixed plants; IEEE Std. 1547a-2020 [29] as an example, it is required
marine energy covers tide, wave, and ocean energy; solar energy that the distributed energy resources have to respond to
includes solar PV and concentrated solar power; and wind energy
abnormal voltages and ride-through of the disturbances
covers onshore and offshore wind. As indicated, the sum of wind and
solar capacity has exceeded the total hydropower capability in 2020.
properly. Relevant standards/grid codes can harmonize the
Some data (from 2000 to 2011) are from previous reports work done by different entities to further increase the
(https://www.irena.org/publications/). penetration of REN resources for a cleaner energy society.
336 P ROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE | Vol. 111, No. 4, April 2023

sources, i.e., wind and solar PV energy, while considering

ES (mainly, battery storage). A comprehensive review of
key technologies for REN is provided, and the correspond-
ing technology development prediction is also discussed.
Although this is a broad review article, it primarily focuses
on wind, solar PV, and ES technologies seen from the power
electronics perspective, as a timely summary of the key
technologies for large-scale REN generation. The rest of
this article is organized as follows. General requirements
and demands for the grid integration of REN resources
are presented in Section II. Advances in power electronics
for wind, solar PV, and ES are overviewed in Section III,
where power electronics for modern transmission systems
is also discussed. Control techniques and system-level
operation strategies for large-scale REN generation are
briefly presented in Section IV, followed by challenges and
Fig. 3. Power electronics in modern power transmission systems future research perspectives in large-scale REN systems
and its increasing applications in future energy systems in Section V. Finally, concluding remarks are given in
(DFACTS—distributed flexible ac transmission system), which is Section VI.
anticipated to be more used. Notably, power electronics are more
intensively used to process electrical energy in the right five kinds
of applications (appliances, LED lighting, solar PV, wind, and electric II. R E Q U I R E M E N T S A N D D E M A N D S O F
vehicles) compared to the left three. R E N E W A B L E E N E R G Y G E N E R AT I O N
As pointed out in Section I, large-scale REN generation
is different from conventional power generation systems.
In other words, they can be used as the main design and When integrating into the grid, various requirements
planning benchmarks for large-scale REN power genera- and/or demands must be complied with at different lay-
tion. In all, the measures that should be taken to improve ers. In this section, the requirements and demands of
the integration of large-scale REN systems are related to large-scale REN systems are presented, including those for
the design, control, and operation of power electronic wind and solar PV systems (generator side), ES, and grid
converters. connection (grid side). The role of power electronics is
Furthermore, to enhance the grid integration of large- highlighted.
scale REN systems, the operation of inverter-based
resources can be improved by integrating large-scale
energy storage (ES). That is, the development of advanced
A. Requirements of Wind and PV Generation
ES technologies is important [30], [31], [32], [33].
Systems
ES systems can be a buffer to balance and/or ease the As shown in Fig. 4, the wind and PV generation systems
management of the variable power generation from REN can be divided into generation and conversion stages.
resources and the load demands. However, currently, large-
scale ES systems are still highly costly, except for the
geography-limited pumped storage hydropower systems.
Seen from the multifold benefits brought by ES systems,
more ES will soon be seen in practice, as an essential
asset to enhance the grid integration of REN resources.
Notably, power electronics (interlinking the REN resources,
ES systems, and the grid or local loads) will again play
a vital role in large-scale ES systems and in transforming
energy paradigms. In particular, the coordinated operation
can be achieved in a cost-effective way [33], [34], [35],
especially with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI) [36],
to improve the economic performance of the entire system.
The integration of ES is seen as a system-level solution to
the performance enhancement of large-scale REN systems.
With the above, the challenges, solutions, and oppor-
Fig. 4. General configuration of (a) wind power generation system
tunities for large-scale REN generation are discussed in
(in some cases, the gearbox is optional) and (b) PV power generation
this article, focusing on power electronics and advanced system, where the PE system is the power electronics system,
control. Compared to the existing survey papers and text- including power converters and the associated control. Here, the PV
books, this article considers the most widely used REN power generation system is based on the photovoltaic effect.

More specifically, wind energy is captured through the many opportunities to improve efficiency and power den-
mechanical system (including turbines), and ac electricity sity [42]. Yet, power semiconductors may fail to operate
is generated. For solar PV systems, the energy is col- due to sudden disturbances (e.g., short-circuit faults) or
lected through many PV cells that statically convert the long-term fatigue. When this occurs, the shutdown of
solar energy from sunlight based on the photovoltaic effect the power conversion system may be inevitable, which
into dc electricity. Solar PV energy can also be collected may challenge the entire grid stability, leading to huge
through PV cells with a solar concentrator. In this article, economic losses and increased maintenance costs. Hence,
we consider PV technology only. To comply with load power converters should have high reliability, which can be
characteristics at the point of common coupling (PCC), achieved through effective design and control for reliability
e.g., an ac grid, power electronics is used as the inter- [25]. Alternatively, reliability and power density can be
mediate stage to condition the electricity generated from enhanced by better managing the thermal flow to reduce
wind turbines (WTs) or solar PV cells. Dedicated strategies peak temperatures in the power electronic converters,
are implemented in the control of power converters for as high temperatures accelerate component degradation
individual systems to better integrate the REN resources [25]. This is especially important for WT systems, where
with the load (e.g., utility power grids). Requirements of power converters are installed in the housing, called a
wind and solar PV generation systems are summarized in nacelle, with limited space for heat dissipation. That is,
Fig. 5, which indicates that different demands are imposed cooling systems and thermal management should be prop-
on the generation and conversion stages. erly designed. Communication and status monitoring of
For WT systems, the electromagnetic torque is controlled power converters are increasingly required so that the per-
by regulating the generator-side current that flows in the formance of wind and PV power systems can be enhanced
generator rotor or stator. By doing so, the power extracted (e.g., reliability and efficiency improvement). In addition,
from the WT can be optimized; this is a type of control the operation of large-scale systems can be coordinated via
known as maximum power point tracking (MPPT), which communication [21]. This also helps to optimally dispatch
can be achieved by regulating the blade rotational velocity the power flow.
and pitch angle as well [37], [38]. In other words, it As can be seen in Fig. 5, control of power converters
is to achieve an energy balance between the mechanical is of importance. It helps the entire REN power genera-
and electrical power conversion in the WT. As shown in tion system to meet different demands, i.e., to make it
Fig. 5, WT power generation systems also need to control multifunctional [9]. The above indices (e.g., reliability,
the generator frequency. At present, for both WT and PV efficiency, and MPPT) can be improved through the con-
systems, the status of the generators (e.g., the turbines trol of power converters. There have been many control
and the PV cells) should be monitored to enable timely technologies for PV and wind power systems developed in
maintenance or detect abnormalities. This can be further the literature [24], [43], [44], [45]. Among those, linear
enhanced by AI technologies [39], [40], [41]. Moreover, controllers, such as a proportional–integral (PI) controller,
either the voltage or the current (or both) should be are the most widely used in practice, while nonlinear
controlled on the generator side. control, such as model predictive control (MPC) [45],
Due to the increasing capacity of an individual WT or is also being advanced and implemented in recent years.
solar PV array, many power semiconductors are used to Developments in information technologies are transform-
assemble the power stage. Efficiency and power density ing the control capabilities of power converters. For exam-
are major considerations. For instance, for offshore WT ple, AI-aided control has been used in power converters
systems, higher power density means lower installation to improve their reliability and stability [46]. In all, the
costs, which further helps to reduce the cost of wind control acts as the brain of REN systems to meet various
energy. Advanced wide bandgap (WBG) devices bring requirements. Underpinned by communication, control is
essential to the coordinated operation of large-scale REN
systems.
Finally, the voltage level of individual wind or PV
generators is still low compared to the voltage at the
PCC. The low output voltage may need to be increased
to facilitate power transmission. In other words, step-up
transformers are typically adopted at the medium-voltage
(MV) side. This imposes additional challenges on the
power converters in terms of power converters topologies,
passive filter design and integration, and control, espe-
cially with the increasing adoption of WBG devices [e.g.,
silicon-carbide (SiC) devices] for efficiency improvements.
Fig. 5. Common requirements of individual wind and solar PV
power generation systems (generator and converter), where MPPT
At the same time, it also provides opportunities to develop
represents the maximum power point tracking and WT stands for new technologies, e.g., solid-state transformers (SSTs) and
the wind turbine. substations [47], [48].

B. Requirements of Energy Storage Systems Table 1 Comparison of Selected ES Technologies [52], [53], [54], [55],
[56]
In order to balance the ambient-condition-dependent
power production (e.g., weather and time of day) from
REN resources and varying consumption, ES is necessary.
To enable the increasing penetration of REN power genera-
tion systems onto the grid, ES is an asset for grid regulation
with many benefits [49], [50], [51]:
1) Conventional power generation systems can be oper-
ated in an efficient and conventional way since the
fluctuating power due to the intermittency of REN
resources is mitigated by charging and discharging
the ES units.
2) Power generation from the REN resources can be flex-
ibly stored in ES units, and it can be used to improve
the utilization and optimize the power flow, further
reducing the need for processing peak power or trans-
mission of large power capacity in short periods. switching at a high frequency of up to a few hundreds
3) Emergency handling capability of the utility grid can of kHz may complicate the harmonic contents; harmonics
be enhanced by ES units, where critical operation from interconnected converters can interact with each
demands can be achieved, e.g., black starts. other, possibly leading to resonance and instabilities. This
In addition, the integration of ES systems helps to requires the power converter to withstand severe condi-
achieve a more stable electricity price. In all, the ES tions [e.g., unfavorable harmonic content and electromag-
becomes more important for the energy transition to meet netic interference (EMI)].
the need for a more efficient and sustainable energy To integrate more power electronic-based REN systems
system. into the grid, it may become necessary for power con-
Thus, many ES technologies (e.g., pumped storage, verters to emulate the behaviors of conventional power
Li-ion batteries, flow batteries, flywheels, and hydrogen- plants irrespective of the operating states. This is ben-
based systems) are being developed. Their characteristics eficial to allow for stable operation even with the cut-
differ, and thus, the corresponding control strategies are in and cut-out of multiple generation units and the
important, when being implemented in grid-scale systems. dynamic operation of the entire multiconverter REN
For example, a pumped-hydro station is suitable for bulky systems. It is a means for power converters to effec-
load management applications due to its large energy tively maintain the frequency and the voltage ampli-
and power capacities, while it is limited by its physical tude of the grid. Next-generation REN systems are
location. Moreover, one concern of the chemical-based ES required to actively participate in grid regulation [14],
systems is safety (risk of fire due to thermal runaway under [15]. This is a measure to maintain robustness in
unbalancing voltages among cells during operation) that response to various disturbances apart from harmon-
can be enhanced by advanced energy management systems ics. For example, to ensure the safety of equipment
(EMSs). A qualitative comparison of the characteristics
of selected ES technologies is given in Table 1. More
detailed benchmarks can be found in [52], [53], [54],
[55], and [56].
C. Interconnection and Integration Requirements

Power electronic converters should be multifunctional to
enable the integration of REN systems. Different demands
can be met through the control of power converters.
Among those, power quality is the foremost issue. For
instance, as defined in the IEEE Std. 1547-2018, the
total harmonic distortion (THD) of PV systems should be
below 5%. There are two reasons for large harmonic emis-
sions: the inherent intermittency leading to power fluc-
tuations and the continuous use of nonlinear power con-
Fig. 6. LV ride-through requirements (voltage profile) for wind
verters. When developing REN systems, harmonic inter-
(solid lines) and PV (dashed lines) power generation systems in
ference and interaction issues should be explored, which Spain and Denmark [2]. Above the curves, Zone A and Zone B, the
are strongly related to: 1) topologies and 2) controllers. systems should remain connected; below the curves, it is allowed to
Power converters with WBG devices for REN applications disconnect the generation systems from the utility grid.

connected to the PCC, PV systems must have island- In addition, power electronics technologies for transmis-
ing detection and protection. Under grid faults (e.g., sion systems are discussed.
voltage sags), both wind and PV power generation sys-
tems should not only withstand temporary grid faults A. Power Electronics Development and General
but also contribute to grid voltage recovery [2], [4]. Converters
Fig. 6 exemplifies the low-voltage (LV) ride-through
The history of power electronics goes back more than
requirements of REN generation systems. Other pro-
100 years [57], as shown in Fig. 7. Since the invention
tection schemes and strategies should be developed to
of the mercury arc rectifier, power converters have been
ensure safe power generation from REN resources and its
adopted to deal with the electrical conversion and con-
operation [2], [14], [15].
trol of electrical power, especially after thyristors were
Beyond the above issues, as more SGs are being phased
invented in the 1950s. Since then, with the 65 years of
out and replaced by power electronic-based REN sys-
development of power semiconductors, power electronics
tems, power converters may interact with each other
technology has been evolving, as presented in Fig. 7, from
[14], and additional functionality may be required. For
the basic search of topologies, control techniques, and
instance, more and more grid operators demand wind
efficiency to application-oriented technological improve-
and PV power systems to provide power oscillation
ments, such as packaging, thermal management, and mod-
damping and black start capabilities [56]. This will
ularity. In other words, power electronics development
also enhance the transient stability and performance of
was initially function-/mission-driven but has shifted to
large-scale REN generation systems, but, at the same
be more performance-driven. Along with this, information
time, the control strategies are becoming more advanced.
and communication technologies (ICTs) have been increas-
In all, in terms of interconnection and integration,
ingly used in power electronics converters. Advancements
large-scale REN power generation systems are becom-
in power electronics lay the foundation for the fast and
ing multifunctional, both statically and dynamically, to
effective use of REN generation systems.
maintain the robustness and resiliency of the entire power
In practice, as discussed in Section II, power electronics
grid.
should achieve low losses, high reliability, and high-power
density (e.g., using high switching frequencies). Accord-
III. P O W E R E L E C T R O N I C S F O R W I N D , ingly, many power converter topologies have been pro-
P V, A N D E N E R G Y S T O R A G E S Y S T E M S posed in the literature and used in industrial applications.
Power electronics plays an important role in the expansion Among those, two- and three-level converters are the most
of large-scale REN generation systems. In this section, used and commercialized topologies. Fig. 8 shows two-
the development of power electronics and converters is and three-level neutral-point clamped inverters that are
presented, followed by a detailed discussion of the power voltage-source converters (VSCs). The multilevel technol-
configuration architectures for wind, PV, and ES systems. ogy, e.g., the three-level converter, is an effective method to
Fig. 7. Advancements in power electronics along with the evolution of power semiconductor devices technologies [57], being one of the
major reasons for the fast development of REN power generation systems. Here, GTO: gate turn-off thyristor; GTR: giant transistor; MOSFET:
metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor; IGBTL insulated-gate bipolar transistor; SiC: silicon carbide; GaN: gallium nitride; EMI:
electromagnetic interference; EMC: electromagnetic compatibility; DT: digital twin; and AI: artificial intelligence.

Table 2 Generator Technologies for WT Power Systems
Fig. 8. General power converters for REN systems: (a) two-level

inverter and (b) three-level neutral-point clamped inverter, which
can be used to build up large-scale REN generation systems. Here,
vdc is the dc-link voltage; C, C1 , and C2 are the dc-link capacitors; S
represents an IGBT with a parallel diode; D indicates a diode; and
va,b,c are the output voltages.
most of such systems were designed based on the doubly

fed induction generators (DFIGs) (shared a larger portion
address limited voltage ratings of power devices, especially
of the market in the past). In this case, power electronics
for large-scale REN generation systems. It can also help
was partially used, i.e., only the rotor employed a power
to reduce the filtering required at the output (e.g., using
electronics converter with a reduced rating. To flexibly
smaller and simpler filters but achieving a high power qual-
process the increasing power of the WTs, full-scale power
ity). Modular multilevel converters (MMCs) are a represen-
converters were then increasingly used with induction,
tative type that has been commercially used in high-voltage
permanent magnet, and wound-field SGs, also due to the
transmission systems. In addition to VSCs, current-source
continuous cost reduction of power electronics. Table 2
converters (CSCs) are seen in MV motor drive applications
summarizes the generator technologies from various WT
due to their strong fault-current withstanding capability.
manufacturers.
To assemble large-scale REN generation systems, many
For large-scale wind power generation systems, the
general converters, such as those shown in Fig. 8, can be
energy conversion should be as efficient as possible to
used to handle higher power levels and currents. Moreover,
further lower the cost of energy. This is also seen in the
the concept of power electronics building blocks [59] has
increasing utilization of power electronics in individual
become a general solution for power electronics develop-
WT systems, as aforementioned (see Fig. 9). On the other
ment to scale up power.
hand, REN power generation should be more active in
grid regulation, and it is required to comply with stringent
B. Conversion Architecture for Large-Scale Wind grid codes, which have been presented in Section II and
Systems will be further discussed in Section III. Hence, the design
Benefitting from the advancements of power semicon- and configurations of large-scale WT power systems, which
ductor and power electronics technologies, wind power involve a very large-scale adoption of power converters,
systems have been through a substantial technological are of importance. A better system configuration can con-
transformation over the past several decades. This is also tribute to high efficiency and easier compliance with grid
driven by the need for lowering the cost of energy. In the requirements.
1980s, a WT system of 50 kW was considered large, Many solutions have been proposed in the literature
where power electronics was barely utilized. Compared to [19], [62] to integrate large-scale wind energy into
the WT systems in today’s markets, where a WT power the grid. Among those, most wind farms are currently
rating is typically at 2–3 MW, the 50-kW power level is connected to the grid via medium-voltage ac (MVac)
relatively low. Now, the rating of a single WT system is technology, as shown in Fig. 10. Both DFIG and permanent
approaching 15 MW [19], [60], as indicated in Fig. 9. It is, magnet SG (PMSG)-based WTs can be used, as exemplified
thus, becoming uneconomically viable to directly process in Fig. 10. Such a wind farm can easily have an accumu-
such a large amount of power without power electronics. lative power capacity of a few hundred megawatts, e.g.,
As shown in Fig. 9, along with the increasing power the Anholt offshore wind farm of 400 MW in operation
capacity of a single WT, the utilization of power electronics in Denmark. It should be noted that power converters for
is also increasing. At the same time, the functions of power the individual WT in such wind farms have to comply
converters are changing, e.g., from a single function (like with and meet the demands outlined in Section II. More
soft start) to multitasking operation, as WT power systems importantly, at the system level, additional measures may
are considered active contributors and stabilizers in the be taken to enhance grid integration. For instance, due
overall power grid. In terms of generator technologies, to the limited reactive power capability, a centralized

Fig. 9. Development of WT technologies, where “green area” indicates that the use of power electronics has been increasing significantly
to process a large amount of power from WT systems. Here, D represents the diameter of the WT rotor; MW stands for megawatts.
reactive power compensation unit like a static synchronous wind farms [see Fig. 10(b)]. In this, the generators can
compensator (STATCOM) may be installed to meet grid be PMSGs with full-scale power converters. Due to the
requirements, as shown in Fig. 10(a). By contrast, reactive ever-increasing need for flexibility and controllability of
power capability can be enhanced, especially when full- reactive power, the grid-side converter in each individual
scale power electronics are adopted to assemble large-scale WT system can provide the required reactive power upon
demand. As a result, additional reactive power compen-
sators may be avoided, while, at the same time, the col-
lector network should be properly considered. Notably, the
individual power converters should be properly designed
by following the requirements presented in Section II.
With respect to long-distance power transmission, which
is common in wind farms (e.g., from an offshore wind farm
to the grid), high-voltage dc (HVdc) transmission technol-
ogy has been developed and implemented in recent years.
HVdc transmission is an important option, as it can achieve
a high transmission efficiency, and there is no reactive
power during power transmission [58], [62]. In addition,
HVdc technologies are used in wind applications, while
high capacitance (due to longer cables) makes reactive
power management very difficult if ac cables are adopted.
For large-scale WT power systems, HVdc transmission can
be achieved through various configurations, as shown in
Fig. 11. For example, the MVac voltage of the wind farm
output can be converted to HVdc by a boosting transformer
and high-voltage source rectifiers to achieve dc power
transmission, as observed in Fig. 11(a). Alternatively, HVdc
transmission can be attained by employing fully active-
controllable power converters, e.g., SSTs, as presented in
Fig. 10. Configurations of large-scale WT power systems Fig. 11(b). In this case, the LV/MV of the WTs is converted
connected to MVac grids: (a) DFIG-based wind farms and (b)
to a medium/high dc voltage for transmission. In this
PMSG-based wind farms, where the MVac grids are connected to the
HVac grid through MV/HV transformers. Here, the voltage level of configuration, a full dc power delivery in both the distri-
MVac grids is 11–33/34.5/46 kV while 60–245 kV for the HVac grid. bution and transmission lines can be realized and, thus,

are connected in series and in parallel, as discussed in

Section II. The power level per panel of many solar PV
cells is approaching 600–700 W [63], which is, however,
still far lower than the capacity of an individual WT. For
large-scale PV power systems, many series-connected PV
panels (forming as PV strings) and then many PV strings in
parallel (as arrays; see Fig. 12) are used for higher power
generation. In such applications, inverters connected to
a single PV string or multiple strings are called string
inverters, and for converters interfacing PV arrays (i.e.,
many PV panels connected in series and in parallel), those
are called central inverters. Both technologies are widely
adopted in practice. Notably, the converter topologies can
be the same for string and central inverters, e.g., the two-
and three-level inverters shown in Fig. 8, while the power
device ratings are usually different.
In addition, a large amount of PV arrays can occupy
considerable land space, and thus, large-scale PV power
plants are usually installed in areas with large open spaces.
Nonetheless, among the top in-operation PV plants, the
central inverter technology (several central inverters) is
the most widely adopted approach for such applications,
as it is the simplest way to collect dc power from PV arrays
Fig. 11. Configurations of large-scale WT power systems with HVdc with a low construction cost. In turn, it contributes to the
power transmission: (a) full-scale converters with VSC rectifiers,
reduction of the PV plant cost per watt of the nominal
(b) full-scale converters enabling both distribution and transmission
dc grids, where the dc/dc station of the HVdc transmission system is power, i.e., the cost of PV energy. In practice, multiple
optional, and (c) cascaded power converter structure. Here, G is the string inverters have also been used to maintain energy
WT generator. SST: solid-state transformer. LV/MV: low supply reliability. Fig. 12 shows the general configurations
voltage/medium voltage.
of large-scale PV power generation systems connected to
the MV/high-voltage ac (HVac) grids, where single con-
verters are exemplified.
improve the overall efficiency of the power delivery and It is worth noting that, for the central inverters with
transmission [62], compared to the solution in Fig. 11(a). many PV panels connected in series and in parallel, which
This is attributed to the removal of several power are typically installed in a large area, the MPPT efficiency
converter and transformer stages. What is more, SSTs is often low. This is because the PV panels spread over a
(dc–dc power transformers) enable flexible power flow large area may receive nonuniform irradiance (leading to
management in smart grids. In addition, another solution mismatching characteristics that reduce power generation)
to power transmission is based on the cascaded structure, compared to the string inverters installed in a smaller area,
as shown in Fig. 11(c), whose control is more compli- where each panel receives almost the same solar irradi-
cated than others to balance the power between each ance. On the other hand, as central inverters have fewer
module and optimize the energy flow. Notably, considering power conversion stages, the overall conversion efficiency
the overall cost and limited space of offshore platforms, is still generally higher than 95% [12]. This is also another
the active rectifiers using full-controllable power devices reason for large-scale PV generation systems to be installed
[e.g., insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs)] are not in large open spaces (avoiding mismatched panel char-
specifically feasible. Instead, multiple diode rectifiers can acteristics due to shadowing from buildings or trees) to
be employed to replace the VSC-based rectifier in the increase the harvested energy. In practice, to address this
HVdc transmission system of Fig. 11(a). With this solution, and, thus, to further optimize the energy yield, many PV
a reduction of power losses and weight can be achieved for strings are connected to a single converter to ensure that
several-hundred-MW HVdc systems. Additional benefits, the energy is supplied reliably, where a dc combiner box is
such as scalability, redundancy, and reliability, make this adopted like the one shown in Fig. 12. Moreover, practical
solution very cost-effective, while the controllability must projects also employ several power converters to alleviate
be maintained at the LV or MV sides. the power mismatching impact (e.g., aging of panels and
risk of heat damage) and maintain the power supply in the
C. Conversion Architecture for Large-Scale PV case of PV string faults. In addition, the use of multiple
Systems power converters is due to the limited power ratings of
Compared to wind power systems, PV systems consist the power semiconductor devices. Again, multilevel con-
of a considerable number of solar PV cells/panels that verters are gaining popularity in high-power PV systems,

At the same time, the 1500-V technologies have several

challenges. For example, due to the series connection of
many PV panels needed to achieve the 1500-V dc voltage,
potential-induced degradation [69] (e.g., power gener-
ation and efficiency may be lower) may become more
severe, which also poses electric safety concerns. Moreover,
the converters previously designed for 1000-V applications
have to be redesigned to accommodate the higher dc
voltage. To achieve this, advanced power devices can be
adopted, or topological innovations should be considered.
In all, considering the significant cost reduction and energy
increase, the 1500-V technologies are now standardized.
As aforementioned, the use of multiple 1500-V converters
for large-scale PV systems is common, and more will be
seen. The accumulative power capacity of a single PV
plant may challenge the entire grid operation and cause
instabilities. In this regard, like the demand for large-scale
WT power systems, advanced control is of importance to
Fig. 12. Typical configurations of large-scale PV power generation ensure the seamless integration of large-scale PV systems,
systems connected to MVac grids: (a) double-stage via a boosting
which will be discussed in Section IV. In terms of power
dc/dc converter, (b) single-stage using a boosting transformer, and
(c) single-stage through a step-up inverter. Here, cascaded
transmission, HVdc technology can be adopted, but it is not
structures can also be used. The red dc/ac in Fig. 12(c) means that common as the location of large-scale PV power systems is
the inverter has boosting capability. relatively close to the load.
D. Integration Architecture for Energy Storage

Systems
As it has been discussed in Section II, with the increased
as discussed in Section III-A. The typical power rating of
penetration of REN resources, the role of ES devices has
central PV inverters is several hundred kilowatts, while
become much more important in the energy transition.
commercial central power inverters of several megawatts
Notably, ES technologies are not something completely
are also emerging and have become available in recent
new, and various applications of ES devices and systems
projects.
have been seen in practice, ranging from small electronics
Furthermore, as seen in Fig. 12, many PV arrays are
to automotive applications to utility-scale grid systems.
connected to combiner boxes using dc wires, which can
It should be pointed out that, in all the listed applications,
incur a considerable ohmic loss in practice for large-scale
power electronics provides essential interfaces between the
PV power generation systems. Also, dc wires to carry large
storage units and loads. Although there are many types of
currents are difficult to bend in practical installations.
ES systems, this section gives an overview of the power
To address these issues, the maximum dc voltage for PV
power converters has been shifted from 1000 to 1500 V,
especially in utility-scale systems [12], [64], [65]. Beyond
the dc wire loss reduction, the 1500-V technology also
brings several other benefits: reduced cable costs (as well
as the overall system cost), increased reliability (fewer
combiner boxes), and lowered installation investment.
In turn, it brings more energy production and lowers
the cost of energy. Fig. 13 shows an example of an MV
utility-scale PV power generation system based on the
1500-V technologies and SSTs, which can further increase
the system efficiency, power density, and controllability
(e.g., providing grid support). Notably, referring to the
demands presented in Section II, the PV power convert-
ers have to meet various requirements. Furthermore, the
requirement of thermal management is one even in appli-
cations of high efficiency, and modular multilevel technolo-
gies [57], [68] enable the generation being of high power Fig. 13. Example of utility-scale PV power generation based on
quality, as well as higher reliability due to the increased 1500-V technologies, where SSTs are adopted, increasing the
redundancy and scalability (many modules in use). controllability of the overall system.

especially for higher power applications, requiring multiple

parallel systems. As an alternative, bidirectional multilevel
power converters, e.g., Fig. 8(b), have been proposed in
the literature to handle higher voltages and higher power
ratings. For example, the multilevel topologies based on
the diode-clamped, flying-capacitor, and cascaded tech-
niques are suitable for such applications. Like the mul-
tilevel converters used for wind and solar PV systems,
they can provide better power quality with lower THD
and lower EMI. Fig. 15 shows an example of battery-ES
systems based on an MMC for utility-scale applications,
where batteries are connected to individual submodules
Fig. 14. ES integration architectures: (a) dc-coupling configuration (SMs), i.e., as multiple dc sources. More can be found
as distributed solutions, exemplified on a wind power generation in [70], [71], and [72]. Notably, many batteries can be
system and (b) ac-coupling configuration, as a centralized ES
connected in series or parallel to form a common HVdc
system, where dc/dc converters are optional, and multiple dc/dc
converters can also be adapted to connect batteries to an MVDC
source, which is then connected to the dc rails of an
grid. MMC. Thanks to the fast development of HV SiC devices,
it is anticipated that ES systems with multilevel and SiC
technologies can directly be connected to MV distribution
systems. Significant research efforts have been devoted
electronics architectures of large-scale ES systems using to multilevel converter technologies, which are able to
batteries, which can improve the system performance in integrate ES devices both in a centralized and distributed
terms of power quality, fault ride-through, and energy way. Along with the declining ES price, it further enables
management, as mentioned in Section II. For such appli- the large-scale integration of REN resources, as ES devices
cations, many battery cells are adopted to form battery can provide much flexibility to the system.
packs.
Generally, ES devices can be integrated through the dc- E. Power Converters for HVdc Transmission
coupling technology or at the ac side, as shown in Fig. 14.
For the dc-coupling solution, it is typically implemented Cost and energy efficiency are the foremost indicators
together with REN systems, e.g., WT systems. For the of REN utilization. In terms of power transmission, com-
ac-coupling solution, it is considered a centralized solu- pared to HVac transmission technology, HVdc technology
tion, which can be optimally installed at certain places has lower transmission losses. Fig. 16 shows the general
in the power grid. According to He et al. [65], the dc- configuration of an HVdc system, where the terminal Sub-
coupling solution can be more reliable with redundancy,
while centralized solutions are favorable in grid appli-
cations. Nonetheless, different from the power convert-
ers for wind and solar PV systems, the power electronic
converters for ES systems are required to operate more
frequently in a bidirectional way to charge and discharge
the ES devices, e.g., batteries. An EMS or a battery EMS
is required to achieve charging/discharging control and
monitor the state of charge (SOC) of the battery cells in
order to ensure operation safety. With respect to power
electronics, the standardized power converters that can
be used for ES systems are shown in Fig. 8(a), which
are typically for low-power and LV applications, such as
line-interactive uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs), as
distributed solutions. It should be noted for ES applications
that the standardized power converters may pose a large
dc-link voltage ripple that is harmful to the batteries. Thus,
additional efforts should be devoted to reducing the dc-link
voltage ripple through advanced control or topological
modifications [5].
In order to handle higher voltages, line-frequency step- Fig. 15. Example of utility-scale ES systems based on the MMC
up transformers should be adopted to boost the two-level technology, where the batteries are connected to each individual
output voltages to tens of kilovolts (i.e., an MV grid). SM. Here, Vdc denotes the voltage at the dc rails, L is the arm
However, this solution will become bulky and less efficient, inductor, and S1,2 represent(s) IGBT modules.

lower level. In practice, to maintain low switching losses,

especially for high-power applications, two- or three-level
converters should not be switched at a high frequency
(usually around 1 kHz or below). As a result, large har-
monics will be generated, which will then increase the
ac filtering requirements. With these concerns, the MMC
systems have been increasingly utilized in practical HVdc
Fig. 16. General configuration of an HVdc system connecting two projects. Compared to other solutions, the MMC-based
ac grids (Grid I and Grid II), where Vdc is the HVdc voltage, and Zg1 HVdc technology has the benefits of low conversion losses,
and Zg2 are the grid impedance for Grid I and Grid II, respectively.
high power quality, and full controllability. This enables
the independent control of the active and reactive power
through the MMCs [58], [66]. The basic unit of an MMC
is the SM, which can be a half- or full-bridge converter,
stations (I and II) are power electronic-based, and many as shown in Fig. 18. Notably, beyond the long-distance
power electronics devices are adopted to accommodate the power transmission, the HVdc technology can also be used
high dc voltage (Vdc ). In this regard, the HVdc substations to connect ac systems (with different frequencies), e.g., the
are more expensive than the terminals for an HVac system. interconnection of Japan’s East and West power grids, and
However, the cables of an HVdc system are cheaper (i.e., other interconnections in Canada and the USA.
fewer conductors are needed) compared to those for an To transfer a considerable amount of power, the HVdc
HVac transmission system under the same power level. systems can be configured in different ways, i.e., a bipolar
Furthermore, the HVdc technology outperforms the HVac and monopolar structure [66]. For the bipolar configura-
technology in terms of fast and accurate power flow con- tion, there is a positive pole and a negative pole, while the
trol, elimination of intermediate substations for reactive monopolar system just has one pole (either a positive or
power compensation, and a relatively constant voltage negative pole). Notably, the return current for the monopo-
in the line. In all, the HVdc technology is economically lar system may become an issue in a long-term operation.
viable for long-distance power transmission, and thus, it is Monopolar systems can also occur in faulty bipolar systems
increasingly employed in large-scale REN power genera- (i.e., one pole fails). In both cases, the LCC and VSC units
tion systems [58]. At the same time, challenges related to can be employed as the terminal substations; or they can
dc circuit breakers and multiterminal dc systems still need be combined [66]. Power converters can also be connected
to be properly addressed. in parallel or in series in the terminal substations to handle
In terms of the power electronics converters for the higher power. Finally, it is worth noting that, due to the
HVdc systems, conventional power substations are based maturity of MMCs and the advancements in power elec-
on silicon-controlled rectifiers (thyristors), which are very tronics, multiterminal dc technology is gaining popularity
robust and low-cost. With thyristors, line-commutated con- in the integration of large-scale REN generation systems.
verters (LCCs) have been developed and implemented
in practical HVdc projects. By its name, the LCC-based IV. C O N T R O L A N D O P E R A T I O N O F
HVdc systems are not fully controllable, and their turn-off R E N E W A B L E E N E R G Y G E N E R AT I O N
occurs according to the ac line current. In addition, the As discussed previously, power electronics is the key to the
power quality is of concern for LCC converters, where capture, processing, and delivery of various REN resources.
reactive power will be consumed, and large filters will The performance of an individual large-scale REN power
be required. To address this, multiphase transformers are generation is, thus, dependent on the power converter
adopted, as shown in Fig. 17, while the overall volume
is increased significantly. In all, the LCC configuration
for HVdc transmission systems has several benefits, such
as low costs, high robustness, and simple structures,
and multipulse LCC converter bridges enable the reduc-
tion of harmonics. However, the controllability is gen-
erally low, which drives the development of VSC-based
HVdc terminal substations, especially facing the demand
for flexible control of large-scale REN generation sys-
tems. This is also due to the limited space of offshore
platforms.
The basic two- or three-level converters for the VSCs
to build an HVdc substation are those shown in Fig. 8.
In such applications, the pulsewidth modulation (PWM)
strategies are adopted to fully control the power electron- Fig. 17. 12-pulse thyristor-bridges for LCC-based HVdc terminal
ics, e.g., IGBTs, where harmonics can be controlled to a substations, where Vdc is the dc-link voltage.

large-scale grid-connected applications of REN generation

systems, the control makes the power converters multi-
functional, as presented in Section II, and accordingly,
various functions can be met, improving the integration
performance. Fig. 19 shows the general control architec-
ture of an individual REN power generation system. It is
emphasized in Fig. 19 that monitoring the status of the
power converter using the measurements is an important
aspect of advanced control. As for REN integration, a very
common function of such a grid-connected converter is to
transfer the energy to the grid based on the corresponding
characteristics of the REN resource (the power output is
dependent on the ambient conditions, e.g., wind speed and
irradiance level; see Fig. 19). This is the optimization of
power/energy generation, also known as MPPT. There are
many MPPT methods in the literature for both wind and
PV applications [67].
Referring to Section III, for WT power systems, MPPT
Fig. 18. MMC-based HVdc terminal substations: (a) half-bridge SM
and (b) full-bridge SM, where Csm is the SM capacitor and Vdc is the
control is achieved by regulating the rotational speed of the
dc-link voltage. generators and the pitch angle. It is usually implemented
in the generator-side converter, i.e., the ac/dc converter
shown in Fig. 10. As for PV power systems, in the case
of single-stage power conversion, MPPT control is imple-
hardware design. At the same time, the control applied to mented in the inverter stage (the only power conversion
power converters for REN generation systems is of signif- stage). For double-stage systems, the MPPT control can
icance, as it is the brain of energy utilization, especially be implemented at the dc–dc converter stage, while the
for system-level coordinated operation. In this section, inversion stage is responsible for other functions. In both
the general control and operation of REN power genera- cases, the dc voltage of the PV systems can be varied to
tion systems are presented, including the basic control of achieve the MPPT operation (i.e., the MPPT block’s output
individual power converters and cooperative operation of is a dc voltage reference). In all, the purpose of the MPPT
multiple converters in large-scale REN power generation control is to maximize the power/energy extraction from
systems. the REN resources according to the operating conditions.
For the inverter control, its purpose is to ensure that the
power converter injects high power-quality currents (e.g.,
A. General Control of Individual REN Systems
low THD). Thus, in many applications, the injected grid
As the intermediate stage of REN resources and the load currents are controlled. This can be done in various refer-
or the power grid, power electronics converters should be ence frames [24], [43], [44], i.e., the natural abc reference
properly controlled. For one thing, individual power con- frame, the synchronous rotating (dq) reference frame, and
verters are assembled with many switching devices, where the stationary (αβ) reference frame. Usually, a cascaded
the control is used to realize the conversion or condition- dual-loop control scheme is adopted, as demonstrated in
ing from one type of current to another. In addition, in Fig. 20, where the control is achieved in either the dq- or
αβ -reference frame, corresponding to Fig. 20(a) and (b),
respectively. The outer loop can be a voltage control loop
(e.g., the dc-link voltage control gives the d-axis current
reference) or a power control loop (e.g., the reactive power
control generates the q -axis reference current), and then,
the reference currents (i∗d , i∗q ) are obtained. The inner
loop is a current control loop to generate PWM signals.
Furthermore, as seen in Fig. 20, the reference frame trans-
formations (T1 and T2 ) are necessary to transform the
measured variables (three-phase currents and voltages)
to the dq-components. In addition, the injected grid cur-
rents must be synchronized with the grid voltage, where
phase-locked loops (PLLs) are typically adopted. The phase
information tracked by the PLLs is also used for the refer-
Fig. 19. General control structure of individual renewable power ence frame transformations. Notably, there are many cur-
generation systems. rent controllers, e.g., the PI, proportional–resonant (PR),

(using reserved energy) the grid frequency. Nonetheless,

these advanced functions can be achieved by controlling
the intermediate stage—the power converters—of REN
generation systems.
B. Grid-Forming Control of Large-Scale REN

Systems
As aforementioned, advanced grid-functions are
required considering the large-scale adoption of power
converters, as conventional SGs are being phased out
and replaced by “nonrotating” REN generation systems
[56]. Seen from the perspective of the physical operating
mechanism of power systems, the integration of large-
scale REN systems through a massive adoption of power
converters makes the grid become inertia-less or low-
Fig. 20. Typical dual-loop control structure of grid-connected inertia, challenging its stability and operation [14], [15].
power converters: (a) in the synchronous rotating dq-reference
Advanced control functions can be applied to power
frame and (b) in the stationary αβ-reference frame, where T1 and T2
represent the dq/αβ and αβ/abc transformation, respectively. Here,
electronics converters to “harmonize” the operation
the superscript “∗” indicates reference variables, the subscripts of slow-response SGs and power converters that have
“d, q, α, and β” imply the corresponding component in the dq- and faster dynamics. As discussed previously, the role of
αβ-reference frames, Q is the reactive power, L is the total filter power electronic-based REN generation is still mainly to
inductor, ω is the grid frequency, θ is the phase of the grid voltage
deliver the optimal power to the grid. In this context,
estimated by a PLL, v∗inv is the modulation signal, and i∗d can be from
a voltage or power control loop.
conventionally and largely in practical projects, the power
converters are controlled as current sources to inject
power into the grid and follow the grid “rhythm,” meaning
deadbeat, and repetitive controller, where the PI con- its specific frequency and phase angle. This is called a
trollers have been the most widely used ones. It should grid-following operation. As demonstrated previously in
be noted that nonlinear controllers (e.g., the MPC and Fig. 20, grid-following power converters ensure that the
the switching sequence control) are gaining interest in the injected currents are synchronized with the utility grid,
current control of power converters, where the PWM unit e.g., through a PLL or a frequency-locked loop (FLL).
may be removed. To meet the current quality requirements In the past, this operation has been sufficient to
(e.g., in the IEEE Std. 1547-2018, the THD of the injected ensure the stability of a few power converters con-
current should be lower than 5%), additional controllers, nected to the strong grid. However, facing the sce-
such as multiresonant controllers, can be adopted to com- nario of high-penetration or 100% power electronic-based
pensate for harmonic distortions.
Beyond the above general control requirements,
advanced grid functions should also be performed at the
control of the power converters. More specifically, the
grid-connected REN generation system should have the fol-
lowing advanced functions [11], [73]: 1) voltage and fre-
quency regulation; 2) robust response to grid disturbances;
and 3) ancillary grid support (e.g., black-start and
power oscillation damping). An increasing utilization of
large-scale REN power generation with power electronics
results in even more stringent grid requirements since
REN resources are inherently intermittent, as discussed in
Sections I and II. For instance, REN generation systems are
required to ride-through temporary grid voltage faults and
provide dynamic grid support by injecting reactive power.
In addition, the grid-connected REN power converters
should autonomously respond to frequency disturbances
and be able to provide frequency support through active
Fig. 21. Equivalent models of grid-connected converters with
power regulation. More specifically, in the case of an
(a) grid-following control and (b) grid-forming control [74], where ig ,
overfrequency incident, the REN generator should reduce vg , and Zg are the grid current, voltage, and impedance,
its output power to support the frequency; in the case respectively, and ig and vg are the reference current and voltage
of an underfrequency event, the REN generator should phasors for the grid-following and grid-forming converters,
be operating with a power reserve to sufficiently support respectively.

REN power generation systems, the grid-following control

exposes two significant issues. The first one is that, under
large-scale integration of REN systems, it is difficult to
implement the grid-following control in many parallel
power converters, and sophisticated impedance coupling
(between the converters, as well as the converters and
the grid impedance) is possibly appearing, which may
challenge system instability (leading to resonances and
instabilities in the entire system) [74], [75], [76], [77],
[78]. The grid may need to be upgraded to increase the
stiffness. Then, accommodating large-scale REN systems
may require complete grid retrofitting. In other words,
it becomes cumbersome and costly to achieve satisfac-
tory performance. In this context, grid-forming technol-
ogy is emerging and has seen increased development in
recent years. The grid-forming operation is becoming more
accepted [79] as a promising solution to the integration of
large-scale power electronic-based REN systems. Notably,
the advanced grid functions should still be implemented.
Fig. 22. Grid-forming control strategies for power converters [79],
Fig. 21 shows the equivalent operation mechanisms of the where vg and ig are the inverter output voltage and current,
grid-following and grid-forming converters. As it is seen correspondingly, g represents the gate signals, 1/s is an integrator,
in Fig. 21(a), the grid-following control aims to enable V∗g , θg
∗ is the modulation signal reference voltage and phase,
the power converters to inject currents by controlling the respectively, and ω is the grid frequency: (a) droop control (P and Q
are the active and reactive powers), and LPF represents low-pass
converters as current sources with impedance in parallel;
filters; (b) virtual synchronous generator/machine (J is the moment
then, the currents are in phase with the grid voltage of inertia, and Pm and Pe are the respective mechanical and
(i.e., synchronized). By contrast, the grid-forming scheme electromagnetic powers); and (c) virtual oscillator control.
aims to operate the power converter as an ideal voltage
source with an impedance in series, which can provide
a stable and strong voltage at its terminal with a fixed
frequency and constant voltage amplitude, as shown in power generation. In addition, enhancing the emulation
Fig. 21(b). This also enables paralleling of multiple grid- of dynamics and fault behaviors of the conventional SGs
forming inverters. Furthermore, as observed in Fig. 21, by grid-forming power converters is also of interest and
compared with the widely used grid-following control, importance. By doing so, it will be feasible to further
the grid-forming schemes are largely to make the power develop strategies and advanced control to strengthen grid
converters operate like the conventional SGs (to mimic the stability and security. It is also worth mentioning that the
behavior of SGs) in terms of steady-state and transient ES systems will play an important role in 100% grid-
performances. However, the fault current capability of a forming converter-based systems.
grid-forming inverter is much weaker compared to conven-
tional SGs due to the limited rating of the power converters
[15]. At the same time, the fast dynamics of power convert- C. Coordinated Operation of Large-Scale REN
ers are maintained in grid-forming operation, which may Systems
further bring additional benefits to the entire REN genera- According to the above discussions, the power elec-
tion system. tronics and the advanced control (e.g., the grid-forming
Up until now, several grid-forming methods have been technology) have also been driving the development of
proposed, including droop control, virtual SG (machine) more large-scale REN generation systems (in other words,
(VSG), and virtual oscillator control [79], [80], [81], [82]. the scalability of power electronic-based REN systems is
Fig. 22 briefly compares different control strategies for increasingly important). At the converter level, an indi-
grid-connected power converters in terms of implementa- vidual REN generation system can meet the demands of
tion and operation principles. At present, the grid-forming basic functions, as discussed in Sections II and in the
control is more practically implemented on individual above. Considering the fast integration of ES devices and
systems, e.g., microgrids. For large-scale REN generation systems, an energy system consisting of various types of
systems, the control of power converters should enable REN resources is approaching. This enables the intelligent
the REN generation units to operate in the islanding operation of multiple units to maximize energy profits
mode [79]. Nonetheless, it is increasingly required to and increase energy efficiency. At the system level, various
achieve a seamless operation mode transition between the advanced functions and operation modes are becoming
grid-connected mode and the islanding mode, as more feasible. One example is the active power regulation at the
power converters will be connected to the large-scale REN system level of a WT power plant. To enhance the grid

the central controller collects the status information of

the distributed REN systems, and by making an optimal
decision, various operation modes are achievable, e.g., the
optimal placement of virtual inertia and VSG operation
of specific converters. In all, the coordinated operation of
large-scale REN systems has huge potential for enhancing
system stability and robustness, and it will be needed in
the future.
V. C H A L L E N G E S A N D F U T U R E
TRENDS
Although, in this article, many aspects of large-scale REN
power generation have been discussed, there are still
many possibilities for continuous innovation in various
technologies. It is anticipated that a larger range of REN
resources will be explored soon, where power electronics is
one of the enabling technologies. Along with this foreseen
Fig. 23. Reliability improvement of WT power converters through
energy transition, concerns such as efficiency, reliability,
reactive power circulating (coordinated operation) in a wind farm:
where Q is circulated reactive power, and P1 and P2 are the active
availability, and cost are common, and further improve-
powers from the corresponding WT system, respectively. In addition, ments are expected. Seen from the authors’ perspective,
central ES systems can also be adopted to improve the performance the following points are of importance for this devel-
of WT converters and the entire wind farm, as well as to flexibly opment and energy transition, which should be tackled
provide grid support.
properly to achieve grid-friendly integration of various
REN resources, in order to reach a 100% power-electronic-
based grid.
robustness and stability, at the system level, the coordi-
nated operation of multiple converters or REN systems pro-
vides more flexibility in achieving frequency regulations A. Lower the Cost of Energy
and voltage control [21]. The overall system stability can Cost is one of the most important considerations. For
be improved as well to some extent, e.g., active damping by REN power generation systems, the cost determines the
certain REN power converters. Even for the grid-forming design and operation of such systems, as discussed in
operation, the control can be achieved at the system level,
as presented in [15] and [83].
In addition, the coordinated system-level operation can
benefit the converter’s performance. By properly managing
the power flow among the converters, the overall energy
efficiency and system reliability can be enhanced. In partic-
ular, the smart charging and discharging of ES devices and
systems offer improved flexibility. For example, in [84],
the reactive power was circulated in WT power convert-
ers, which helped to improve the converter’s reliability
and thermal performance. The overall system structure is
demonstrated in Fig. 23 for a wind farm, which also shows
a central ES system connected to the MVac grid. Using
ES systems can further improve the performance of WT
converters and the entire wind farm, and at the same time,
it can provide flexible grid support [85], e.g., doing black
start and inertia emulation.
It should be pointed out that, for the coordinated oper-
ation and control of large-scale REN systems, a central Fig. 24. LCOE comparison of selected REN generation technologies
controller may be necessary to coordinate various REN (unsubsidized analysis) [87]. Here, C&I: commercial & industrial and
resources [21], [86], e.g., wind, PV, and ES systems. In this C-Si: crystalline silicon. First, for utility-scale PV power, the low case
represents a single-axis tracking system while the high one for a
case, a large amount of data may need to be transferred
fixed-tilt system. Second, for nuclear, it does not reflect
to and processed by a central controller. High-performance
decommissioning costs, ongoing maintenance-related capital costs,
data processing chips or controllers are then of interest to or other economic impacts/subsidies. Third, for coal, the high end
achieve optimal online operation of the large-scale REN incorporates 90% carbon capture and storage. It does not include
generation system. For example, as demonstrated in [21], the cost of transportation and storage.

Fig. 25. Energy island with large-scale offshore wind farms, a P2X station on the island, and also power/energy connection to shore, which
can be done both electrically and by a gas pipeline (here, HVdc and hydrogen H2 pipeline). The P2X can also be located on shore. The
ac/dc/ac power conversion is shown on the island for the WT connection, but, in practice, it will be in each WT, and here, G represents a
synchronous generator.
Sections II and III. A lower cost of energy implies higher storage has been another driving force, which means that
competitiveness, which helps to accelerate the pace of large-scale REN power generation systems must become
phasing out conventional fossil fuels and increase the smarter to meet increasingly stringent demands. As the
penetration of REN resources. Many countries or orga- key component of the physical layers, the power con-
nizations have set goals to continuously lower the cost verters will produce a considerable amount of data that
of energy. To better compare and quantify the costs of should be processed and controlled by the control chips.
various types of REN resources, the levelized cost of energy In this case, the digital control implemented in low-cost
(LCOE), also referred to as the levelized cost of electric- control chips is essential and will be increasingly adopted,
ity, has been widely used. At present, the LCOE of REN which should offer fast dynamics and enable operational
resources is benchmarked in Fig. 24, which shows that flexibility for power electronics systems. In this context,
the cost of wind energy and utility-scale PV energy is the conventional linear control systems may not meet
now comparable to the cost of coal under certain circum- the increasingly complex performance requirements. More
stances [87]. Moreover, the cost is predicted to be further advanced nonlinear controllers implemented digitally are
lowered [88]. expected.
Measures that can be taken to lower the cost of energy Nevertheless, with intelligent and digital platforms,
include efficiency improvement and reliability enhance- flexible energy management, smart and advanced con-
ment. Both can be achieved through the design and trol, and so on will be readily implemented and devel-
control of the power converters and the overall large-scale oped. More specifically, for grid-connected large-scale
REN systems. This further highlights the important role REN power generation systems, multiple functions can
of power electronics in the utilization of large-scale REN be realized to balance production and consumption,
power generation. In addition, the advancements in power e.g., frequency and voltage control. In this regard, the
semiconductor devices in terms of materials (e.g., WBG grid-forming technology that can achieve fast and effective
technologies) and packaging will improve the converter voltage/frequency control and realize power dispatch will
performance to a large extent. When seen from the system be further adopted. By then, the coordinated operation
perspective, the use of ES devices is also beneficial to the of power electronic-based REN generation systems will be
cost of energy reduction through coordinated control, as it even more flexible to maintain the entire system’s stability.
has been mentioned in Section IV. However, beyond these benefits, smart and digital REN
power generations are also susceptible to cybersecurity
B. Toward Intelligence and Digitalization attackers. That is, the cyber layer has become one of the
The fast development of data science and information vulnerable points that can be attacked, possibly resulting
technology enables the intelligence and digitization of in large economical losses. Thus, it is important to develop
power electronics conversion systems. The low cost of data smart solutions to enhance the security of large-scale

REN power generation systems at both the physical and innovations, REN generation systems will become even
cyber levels. At the same time, the protection of the entire more cost-competitive than conventional fossil-fuel power
REN power generation system should be advanced [2]. generation systems. The substantial ongoing efforts for
integrating much more REN resources into the power grid
C. Multienergy Vectors and Integration require an even smarter way to control the entire energy
This article focuses on WT, solar PV, and battery- system, not only the electrical system but also the thermal
ES technologies, but additional REN resources are energy, water flow, and others. Doing so requires advanced
expected in order to move toward a sustainable and smart grid functions associated with communications and
environmental-friendly power generation system. In that control, and applying ES in the system.
case, large-scale REN generation will become multienergy
vector-based, e.g., hydropower, heat pumps, electric vehi- VI. C O N C L U S I O N
cles (can be considered as mobile storages), and hydrogen The continuous-increasing demand for environmental-
pipelines via the power-to-X (P2X) technology, where X can friendly energy generation across the globe has driven the
be liquids and gases, e.g., methanol and ammonia, using fast development of large-scale REN generation. Among
the electrolysis process. Fig. 25 gives an example of an various REN generation technologies, this article has
energy island with the integration of large-scale offshore overviewed the technological challenges and develop-
wind farms, a P2X station, and the interconnection via ments of wind, PV, and ES systems. Power electronics
HVdc technologies and gas pipelines (e.g., a hydrogen H2 associated with more advanced control technologies are
pipeline). When such energy vectors are integrated into continually being the key to more inverter-based resources.
the system, the power conversion interfaces are different As such, the energy paradigm and the grid architec-
in rating, configuration, control, and operation, especially ture are being transformed digitally, electronically, and
with more power electronics converters, as also demon- intelligently, which further offers opportunities for effi-
strated in Fig. 25 (i.e., ac/dc/ac, dc/ac, and ac/dc con- cient and flexible energy generation, conversion, trans-
verters). Therefore, the response of those systems can vary fer, and utilization. At the same time, challenging issues
significantly, meaning that the operation and control may are foreseen. For example, the large-scale REN power
be needed at different timescales [21]. If multiple units generation is inverter-based, which is a type of static
cannot be harmonized, the system stability and reliability generation compared to the generation from conventional
(and, thus, the energy availability) may be challenged. rotating SGs. In this case, the integration of large-scale
On the other hand, the multienergy vectors offer more con- REN makes the utility grid become inertia-less or have
trollability to manage the entire power or energy flow, e.g., reduced inertia. Then, it is less robust to disturbances.
by performing flexible and smart load control. Although Consequently, as presented in this article, solutions such
the grid-forming technology can be a promising solution to as ES integration and grid-forming control technologies
the integration of multienergy vectors, advanced solutions are emerging for large-scale ES generation systems. Also,
and tools should be developed to ensure reliability and this can be enhanced by multienergy vector systems
stability at the system level. through coordinated control. Moreover, the protection of
According to the summary in [5] of the research chal- the entire REN system is an emerging issue that still
lenges and opportunities for different REN resources until needs to be properly addressed and developed in the
2025, a general expectation is that, through technological future. ■
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Frede Blaabjerg (Fellow, IEEE) received Yongheng Yang (Senior Member, IEEE)
the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering received the B.Eng. degree in electrical
from Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark, engineering and automation from North-
in 1995. western Polytechnical University, Xi’an,
He was with ABB-Scandia, Randers, China, in 2009, and the Ph.D. degree in
Denmark, from 1987 to 1988. He became energy technology from Aalborg University,
an Assistant Professor in 1992, an Associate Aalborg, Denmark, in 2014.
Professor in 1996, and a Full Professor of He pursued postgraduate studies at
power electronics and drives in 1998 at Southeast University, Nanjing, China,
AAU Energy, Aalborg University. In 2017, he became a Villum from 2009 to 2011, and was a Visiting Scholar with Texas A&M
Investigator. He received the honoris causa at the Politehnica University, College Station, TX, USA, from March to May 2013.
University of Timisoara (UPT), Timisoara, Romania, in 2017, From 2014 to 2020, he was associated with the Department of
and the Tallinn University of Technology (TTU), Tallinn, Estonia, Energy Technology, Aalborg University, where he achieved the
in 2018. He has published more than 600 journal articles in rank of tenured Associate Professor in 2018. In January 2021,
the fields of power electronics and its applications. He is a he joined Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, as a ZJU100
coauthor of eight monographs and an editor of 14 books on power Professor. He became a Zhejiang Kunpeng Investigator in 2023.
electronics and its applications. His current research interests His research focuses on grid integration of photovoltaic systems
include power electronics and its applications, such as in wind and control of power converters, specifically grid-forming control
turbines, photovoltaic (PV) systems, reliability, Power-2-X, power technologies.
quality, and adjustable speed drives. Dr. Yang is also a Council Member of the China Power Supply
Dr. Blaabjerg received 38 IEEE Prize Paper Awards, the IEEE PELS Society. He received the 2018 IET Renewable Power Generation
Distinguished Service Award in 2009, the EPE-PEMC Council Award Premium Award and was recognized as an Outstanding Reviewer
in 2010, the IEEE William E. Newell Power Electronics Award in for the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS in 2018. He was
2014, the Villum Kann Rasmussen Research Award in 2014, the a recipient of the 2021 Richard M. Bass Outstanding Young Power
Global Energy Prize in 2019, and the 2020 IEEE Edison Medal. Electronics Engineer Award from the IEEE Power Electronics Society
He was nominated in 2014–2021 by Thomson Reuters to be among (PELS) and the 2022 IEEJ Isao Takahashi Power Electronics Award.
the Most 250 Cited Researchers in Engineering in the World. In addition, he received two IEEE Best Paper Awards. He was
He was the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER included on the list of Highly Cited Chinese Researchers by
ELECTRONICS from 2006 to 2012. He has been a Distinguished Elsevier in 2022. He has served as the Chair of the IEEE Denmark
Lecturer of the IEEE Power Electronics Society from 2005 to Section from 2019 to 2020. He is an Associate Editor for several
2007 and the IEEE Industry Applications Society from 2010 to IEEE Transactions. He is also the Vice-Chair of the IEEE PELS
2011 and 2017 to 2018. From 2019 to 2020, he has served as the Technical Committee on Sustainable Energy Systems.
President of the IEEE Power Electronics Society. He has been the
Vice-President of the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences.

Katherine A. Kim (Senior Member, IEEE) Jose Rodriguez (Life Fellow, IEEE) received
received the B.S. degree in electrical and the Engineer degree in electrical engineer-
computer engineering from the Franklin W. ing from the Universidad Técnica Federico
Olin College of Engineering, Needham, MA, Santa María, Valparaíso, Chile, in 1977, and
USA, in 2007, and the M.S. and Ph.D. the Dr.Ing. degree in electrical engineering
degrees in electrical and computer engi- from the University of Erlangen, Erlangen,
neering from the University of Illinois at Germany, in 1985.
Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA, in He has been with the Department of
2011 and 2014, respectively. Electronics Engineering, Universidad Téc-
From 2014 to 2018, she was an Assistant Professor of electrical nica Federico Santa María, since 1977, where he was a Full Pro-
and computer engineering with the Ulsan National Institute of fessor and the President. From 2015 to 2019, he was the President
Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea. Since 2019, of the Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago, Chile. Since 2022, he has
she has been an Associate Professor of electrical engineering with been the President of the Universidad San Sebastian, Santiago.
National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. Her research focuses on He has coauthored two books, several book chapters, and more
power electronics and control for solar photovoltaic applications. than 700 journal articles and conference papers. His main research
Dr. Kim received the Award for Achievements in Power Electronics interests include multilevel inverters, new converter topologies,
Education from the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) in 2022, control of power converters, and adjustable-speed drives.
the Richard M. Bass Outstanding Young Power Electronics Engineer Dr. Rodriguez is a member of the Chilean Academy of Engi-
Award from PELS in 2019, and the recognition as an Innovator neering. He received a number of best paper awards from the
Under 35 for the Asia Pacific Region by the MIT Technology Review IEEE journals. In 2014, he received the National Award of Applied
in 2020. For IEEE PELS, she has served as the Student Membership Sciences and Technology from the Government of Chile. In 2015,
Chair from 2013 to 2014, a Member at Large from 2016 to 2018, he received the Eugene Mittelmann Award from the IEEE Industrial
and the Women in Engineering Chair from 2018 to 2020, and will Electronics Society. From 2014 to 2022, he was included in the list
be serving as the PELS Constitution and Bylaws Chair for the term of Highly Cited Researchers published by Web of Science.
2021–2024. Since 2017, she has been serving as an Associate
Editor for the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS.

Power Electronics Technology For Large-Scale Renewable Energy Generation

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Power Electronics Technology

for Large-Scale Renewable

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power system-wide strategies should be developed to man-

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sources, i.e., wind and solar PV energy, while considering

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C. Interconnection and Integration Requirements

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Table 2 Generator Technologies for WT Power Systems

Fig. 8. General power converters for REN systems: (a) two-level

most of such systems were designed based on the doubly

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are connected in series and in parallel, as discussed in

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At the same time, the 1500-V technologies have several

D. Integration Architecture for Energy Storage

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especially for higher power applications, requiring multiple

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lower level. In practice, to maintain low switching losses,

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large-scale grid-connected applications of REN generation

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(using reserved energy) the grid frequency. Nonetheless,

B. Grid-Forming Control of Large-Scale REN

be operating with a power reserve to sufficiently support respectively.

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REN power generation systems, the grid-following control

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the central controller collects the status information of

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

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